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C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS)
ephemeris date magn radius delta ra dec elong phase PA
Nearest approach24 Jun 20188.72.278 AU1.293 AU 18h07m-42°22'161.0°8.4°4°
Perihelion10 Aug 20189.32.214 AU1.790 AU 15h00m-57°05'100.6°26.7°102°
Today11 Nov 202526.419.101 AU18.404 AU 06h18m+13°07'133.5°2.2°282°
C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS)- 2025-11-11
astro.vanbuitenen.nl


 
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The interactive orbit chart above shows the comet's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)


Light curve

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the comet's magnitude. Blue and black dots are visual and photometric CCD observations from COBS. This lightcurve is being recalculated every 6 hours based on the available COBS/MPC observations (currently 3.5 + 5 log[∆] + 13.0 log[r]). An additional green curve is displayed when an increase in apparent brightness is expected due to forward scattering of sunlight, which occurs when a dust-rich comet is located between the Earth and the Sun. (See Marcus 2007)



Charts

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the comet over the same period as the light curve. The comet's current position is marked yellow.





The following chart shows the short-term path of the comet in a field of view that is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.




Orbital elements

The orbital elements of C/2016 M1 (PANSTARRS) are: 

    e (Eccentricity)                : 0.9998380
    q (Perihelion distance)         : 2.2139980
    i (Inclination)                 : 90.81310
    Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 92.27850
    ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 209.92500
    L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 91.81050
    B (Latitude of perihelion)      : -29.92168
    T (Time of perihelion passage)  : 2458340.77320

    Epoch                           : 2023 Sep 24
    Reference                       : MPEC 2022-ED3

    Classification(s):              : Nearly isotropic; New (a > 10000 AU)

Ephemerides

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2025-11-10 00:00 UT   06 18 43.4   +13 07 01    18.415   19.093  132.0    2.2   281   26.4 
2025-11-11 00:00 UT   06 18 33.9   +13 07 03    18.408   19.098  133.0    2.2   282   26.4 
2025-11-11 12:29 UT   06 18 28.9   +13 07 04    18.404   19.101  133.5    2.2   282   26.4 
2025-11-12 00:00 UT   06 18 24.3   +13 07 04    18.401   19.103  134.0    2.1   282   26.4 
2025-11-13 00:00 UT   06 18 14.5   +13 07 07    18.395   19.108  135.0    2.1   282   26.4 
2025-11-14 00:00 UT   06 18 04.5   +13 07 09    18.388   19.114  136.1    2.1   283   26.4 
2025-11-15 00:00 UT   06 17 54.4   +13 07 13    18.382   19.119  137.1    2.0   283   26.4 
2025-11-16 00:00 UT   06 17 44.1   +13 07 16    18.376   19.124  138.1    2.0   283   26.4 
2025-11-17 00:00 UT   06 17 33.6   +13 07 21    18.370   19.129  139.1    1.9   284   26.4 
2025-11-18 00:00 UT   06 17 23.0   +13 07 25    18.365   19.135  140.1    1.9   284   26.4 
2025-11-19 00:00 UT   06 17 12.3   +13 07 31    18.360   19.140  141.1    1.9   285   26.4 
2025-11-20 00:00 UT   06 17 01.3   +13 07 36    18.355   19.145  142.1    1.8   285   26.4 
2025-11-21 00:00 UT   06 16 50.3   +13 07 43    18.350   19.150  143.1    1.8   286   26.4 




    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between comet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between comet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-comet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-comet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km

Orbital elements usually provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Observations contributed by observers worldwide, via COBS (Comet Observation Database) or the MPC (Minor Planet Center)
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.

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